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FAKEJAZZ.COM on MOTOR GHOST

Flower and Corsano proved that if you stick an amazing guitarist (well, Japanese banjoist in this case) and amazing drummer in a room, you'll get an amazing record. However, in their collaboration, Corsano definitely was taking a back seat, adding texture and stability for Flower's out there exploration, giving Flower all the room he needs to breathe but never imposing his will on Flower's direction.
For the Motor Ghost recordings, guitarist Ben Reynolds (he of many solo ventures) and drummer Alex Neilson (who has lent a hand to Oldham and Jandek) try their hand at the great guitar + great drums = greatness equation, capturing their first album A Gold Chain Round Her Breast in a one day recording session, and the results are much more collaborative and varied. On the first track, Reynolds' guitar is at its most elastic, bending like smoke through the air in the song's hazy Hendrix on half speed sound. The heaviness of Neilson's drums brings out more metal/PSF quality to the next song, but Reynolds' lyrical riff can be heard clearly throughout. In contrast, the final song on side A sucks all the air out of the room with a hard strum on the acoustic, equaling the darkness of the rock metal prior track but in a more pensive, quiet, and coiled tone, bringing to mind the live untitled 7" Jack Rose did last year. The B side opens with more electric freakout, this time introducing a kinetic horn solo from Reynolds on top of the guitar and drums. As the song starts to lurch halfway through, Reynolds' guitar starts to chainsaw through the murk, slowly dragging itself free for a feat of fast fingerwork. The drums take the lead on the second song on the B-side, giving it a more free-jazz feel, as horn and spacey guitar sounds bounce around the sound like faeries. The final song is an a cappella folk song sung by Neilson.
While it's hard to compare this duo to The Radiant Mirror, Motor Ghost is the more interesting collaboration, in the purest sense of the word, as the two seem so lock step in each of these five heavy, darkly-colored recordings.